Doomed To Repeat The Past? The Re-Circulating Story of Sport Rebreather Safety

[uwxplorer]

I agree that it is as much a training philosophy issue than it is a technology issue.
I mean, in view of the new PADI "requirements" (30 hrs - or is that 30 dives? - on the unit) to be a R-CCR instructor, you have to wonder (not!) about the outcome of releasing effectively solo RB divers who will rarely (if ever) check their controller, possibly not verify that their bailout cylinder is on (and filled !), never practice bailout and other drills, probably not bother to check that they do not enter into deco (infinite air supply, right?), etc, etc... not mentioning maintaining their unit (and themselves) in top shape.
And of course will only exceptionally keep their buddy a few kicks away (when she is by chance still in sight...).

 

[Jeppe]

I agree that it is as much a training philosophy issue as it is a technology issue.
I mean, in view of the new PADI "requirements" to be a R-CCR instructor, you have to wonder (not!) about the outcome of releasing effectively solo RB divers who will rarely (if ever) check their controller, possibly not verify that their bailout cylinder is on (and filled !), never practice bailout and other drills, probably not bother to check that they do not enter into deco (infinite air supply, right?), etc, etc... not mentioning maintaining their unit (and themselves) in top shape.
And of course will only exceptionally keep their buddy a few kicks away (when she is by chance still in sight...).

Just to comment on that, from one that actually went through the PADI Rec program (2 courses). I think all agree (even on an instructor level) that reducing the amount of hours needed for an instructor C-Card is not the correct way. Having said that, I did my course with an instructor who has long experience of OC Tech and also long experience of Rebreather Diving with the unit. The course material is covering alot, and safety is repeated over and over again. It is trained and drilled, since the only thing you should do if an alarm is raised, is to bail out. So, if (when) an alarm goes off, the reflex is to switch your BOV. The course material is written/reviewed by divers/instructors like Kevin Gurr, Jill Heinerth, Martin Robson and Richard Pyle. So I guess it cant be all that bad.

I am sad over the fact that the general view that some has, of an rCCR trained rebreather diver is the points you are mentioning.
Let me give you some insight of the course:
1. Always know your pO2 (that means check your display). Hud will remind you once every 30 sec by a single flash
2. Always check your bailout - It is hammered into you that it should be fully open.
3. Bailout is practised during the course on several occasions and not only from shallow depths
4. A lot of different error scenarios is given to the diver and the diver needs to show that he take the correct actions.
5. The MkVI will clearly show RDT to NDL and I am sure other rCCR's do that to.
6. Rinsing and maintenance is a part of the course.

Now, having said that. There is always a possibility that there are some people that are not meant to dive, not OC and not RB. They simply have the wrong attitude. Likewise, not all people are suited to be an instructor. But this is not solely connected to rCCR training. It can just as easily happen on a tCCR.

 

[uwxplorer]

I did not criticize the course (I don't know what's in it, but PADI has a reputation of releasing very good material). I am just saying that after the class (which will be different with different instructors), the usual same-ocean-buddy attitude and what goes with it will prevail. I think you said exactly that when you described your pre-dive briefing in a previous post.

 

[Brad_Horn]

You are correct Brad, my CE Marked Meg did not come with a Mouthpiece Retaining Strap (MRS) so it is unclear to me how this aspect of the European rebreather standard was satisfied. Perhaps the 2003 version was not so prescriptive in this area compared to the current 2013 version? I'd have to go and cross check between the 2 versions of the standard. However despite this, as was correctly assumed by Dave1w, I fit one myself, in particular the Drager one, which I fit to all units I use when not using a Full Face Mask.

Paul, Thanks mate, figures. Noting your attitude to that it must be a PITA pulling the MRS off for training courses in europe so the rig meets the manufacturers CE spec which has to achieve the same end effect of minimising the ingress of water during normal use and in the event of a diver falling unconscious or having a convulsion.

As you say for discussion on another thread so once again, great article.

Regards
Brad

 

[Paul Haynes]

Thanks Paul

It’s a bit of a damming indictment of CCR diving but I can’t argue much with your conclusions. However the one thing I will note is the alleged solo diving aspect.

In truth the fatalities related to this were not solo dives carried out by divers kitted up and prepared to be alone but were in fact the result of buddy failure resulting in diver separation. Id suggest this would occur immediately after the incident that resulted in death.

Diving with a buddy is no guarantee of said buddy being any use at all in the event of a problem. Most "buddies" do not have the experience, skill set or state of mind to be of much use in any emergency.


I have dived CCR for about 9 years and examples of buddy failure are:

Bubble check carried out at 6m, diluents bottle empty due to gas loss at reaching 65m????

Buddy asked to investigate bubbling noise from rear of unit, Buddy switches off 02 gives OK signal and swims off

Unit failure at 95m in a cave running team bailout. Buddy refuses to follow diver out of cave despite being aware he is carrying half the emergency ascent gas

I had a very long argument on one diver forum where divers were saying their reaction to finding a diver unconscious on the sea bed would be to inflate their wing and send them to the surface????


All of this tells me the issue is more training related.

CCR training is very much solo orientated (bubble check being the only buddy skill I can remember) and has little or no buddy rescue skill element.


The other issue you didn’t touch upon I feel is equally significant. Having manufacturers design the CCR training course results in a course that focuses on the assumed strengths of their own design and glosses over the weakness.

There should be generic CCR training with a cross over element to the specific unit.

Things I would like to see in the generic training are:

More emphasis on C02 both retained and scrubber related

Focus on cell performance with a special focus on manual cell confirmation using 02 and diluents flushing

Cell checking BEFORE calibration

An insistence on full OC bailout from max qualified depth with full simulated deco

An insistence on SCR bailout practice with a minimum of 60mins on SCR


Those last two to dispell divers myths about gas volumes and the value of SCR as a bailout tool



ATB

Mark

Hi Mark

Some well made points. Diving with a buddy is the not the nirvana of rebreather diving safety - far from it, often the ocean wild life to fear most might be the person next to you. It is simply that solo diving (deliberate or otherwise) features highly in rebreather fatality statistics and therefore requires to be considered when analysing rebreather accidents and the potential means of reducing them.

Regarding CCR training, I agree with the curriculum inadequacies you highlight, which coincidentally I incorporate into my training. This however means the courses I run are longer, often by 2 days compared to the time generally allocated to achieve the minimum standard (5 days usually). Highlighting particular unit weaknesses needs to be captured by the Instructor because manufacturers are certainly not going to as this would result in negative marketing.

As for SCR bailout, I am not a fan of teaching this at Mod 1 level, indeed I have pushed for it to be deleted from the BSAC CCR Air Dil curriculum. To execute this skill safely and consistently requires considerable practice. There is insufficient time on a Mod 1 course to turn this skill into a habit so I prefer to see the time allocated to more critical emergency skills such as for example buddy rescue and OC bailout from depth. SCR 'bailout' is subject to considerable skill fade unless frequently rehearsed, if there is a problem with the loop or PO2 monitoring / control system the training priority at Mod 1 should be to GET OFF THE LOOP and make a safe ascent. In my opinion SCR can be taught as an advanced skill at a higher level where a more challenging diving environment might require such an emergency procedure. At the end of the day time is limited and for Mod 1 it comes down to focusing on the key survival skills appropriate for that level of CCR diving and the allocation of training time necessary to achieve a competent, confident and consistent emergency procedure skill set that is most likely to result in a survival outcome.

Rgds

Paul